According to Statistics Estonia analyst Helle Bunder, the impact of the novel coronavirus on manufacturing showed somewhat in March figures.

"Of 23 manufacturing activities, growth was recorded in just four: the manufacture of food products, chemical products, pharmaceutical products and electrical equipment," Bunder said. "In the past, it was typical for half or even more activities to present a positive trend, but that is not the case anymore."

In March, total production in manufacturing decreased by 6 percent on year. Among manufacturing activities with larger shares, production fell in the manufacture of computers and electronic products, fabricated metal products, building materials and shale oil. Compared with the previous year, production increased in the manufacture of food products and electrical equipment.

68 percent of total manufacturing production was sold to the external market in March. The shares of sales for export were largest in the case of the manufacture of electronic products and electrical equipment. According to unadjusted data, the sales of manufacturing production for export decreased by 3 percent and sales to the domestic market by 2 percent on year.

Compared with February, the seasonally adjusted total industrial production fell by 9 percent and the production of manufacturing by 11 percent in March.

In energy production, the production of electricity decreased by 42 percent and the production of heat by 9 percent on year. The fall in the production of electricity was caused by the high price of CO2 emission allowances, which makes the production of electricity from shale oil expensive.

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